The present invention generally relates to a management server device of a storage system and a method for managing the storage system. Particularly, the present invention relates to a management server device for managing a virtual storage device in a storage system having a virtualization function, as well as to a method for managing the virtual storage device.
A computer system is configured by a plurality of server devices, a plurality of storage devices, and various networks connecting these devices. A virtualization technology is applied to the server devices, the storage devices and the network equipment that configure the computer system, in order to improve the use efficiency of the physical resources.
Note that a server device virtualization technology provides a computer with one physical server device in the form of one or more virtual server devices. A storage device virtualization technology also provides a server device with one physical storage device in the form of one or more virtual storage devices.
Internet URL:http://www.t11.org/ftp/t11/pub/fc/da/02-340v1.pdf ([online] [Searched on Mar. 24, 2009]) discloses a protocol for accessing a fiber channel port (FCPort) of a storage device from a fiber channel host bus adopter (HBA) of a server device, wherein the access is made from a virtual HBA (v-HBA) of a virtual server device realized by the server device, to the storage device. Internet URL:http://www.t11.org/ftp/t11/pub/fc/da/02-340v1.pdf ([online] [Searched on Mar. 24, 2009]) also discloses a protocol for accessing, from the HBA of the server device, a virtual fiber channel port (v-FCPort) of a virtual storage device realized by the storage device. By using these protocols, the access can be made from the v-HBA of the virtual server device to the v-FCPort of the virtual storage device. Further, worldwide names (WWN) are assigned to the v-HBA and the v-FCPort. By assigning the WWNs, the v-HBA and the v-FCPort can be treated as physical HBA and FCPort in a storage device area network (SAN). Note that the SAN is a group of FC switches having one or more fiber channel switches (FC switches) connected. In addition, WWNs are identification information for uniquely identifying a connection source and a connection destination in the connection and communication on the SAN.
Internet    URL:http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/storage_vmotion_datasheet.pdf ([online] [Searched on Mar. 24, 2009]) discloses a method for migrating a disk volume (LU) used by a virtual server device to another storage device without stopping the virtual server device in a server device virtualization platform. Identification information (LU number and WWN of the FC port) used by the virtual server device to access a migration destination LU is changed as the LU is migrated. Due to the change of the identification information, access from the virtual server device cannot be made. The server device virtualization platform operates to convert the identification information without allowing the virtual server device to acknowledge it.
Internet <URL:    http://www.brocade.com/downloads/documents/data_sheets/product_data_sheets/FabricOS_DS—09.pdf> ([online] [Searched on Mar. 24, 2009]) discloses a structure of an FC switch device that configures a SAN intermediating an access from a server device to a storage device, wherein the HBA of the server device and an FC port group of the storage device are managed and operated as independently developed virtual SANs (described as “LSAN” in this patent literature) for each group.